Meyerland resident awarded $20,000 for Rett syndrome research

FACES IN THE CROWDMeyerland resident awarded $20,000 grant for his research

Published 5:30 am, Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Photo: Courtesy Allen S.Kramer TCH

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MORE WORK AHEAD: Dr. Jeffrey Neul works with Rett syndrome patient Maddi Kowalik. Neul recently was awarded a $20,000 grant to continue research for a cure for Rett syndrome, a genetic disorder that is found primarily in females. less

MORE WORK AHEAD: Dr. Jeffrey Neul works with Rett syndrome patient Maddi Kowalik. Neul recently was awarded a $20,000 grant to continue research for a cure for Rett syndrome, a genetic disorder that is found ... more

Neul will receive a $20,000 grant to continue his research into Rett syndrome, a genetic, neurodevelopmental disorder that affects speech, hand skills and coordination, primarily in females.

“In the work I'm doing, we're really trying to understand some of the basic reasons why some girls with Rett syndrome have alterations in the way they control their breathing and heart rate,” said Neul, 40. “It's important to understand what causes a fraction of the girls to die early and have a variety of other problems.”

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“When I was in college (University of Illinois) I was a chemical engineering major,” Neul said. “I was fascinated by the idea that lithium, a very simple element, had profound effect on people with neuropsychiatric problems. That something so easy to understand chemically could have such a dramatic effect neurologically. I wanted to understand more how the brain works at the molecular level.”

“Just being involved in child neurology energizes me in researching problems that affect children overall,” Neul said. “But it's easy for me to remain focused on Rett syndrome because it's a very complicated problem.”

Perhaps no one understands that as well as Dr. Huda Zoghbi, director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, who is Neul's mentor and herself a 1988 recipient of the Philip Rogers Dodge Young Investigator Award.

“The Child Neurology Society recognizes a rising star in the field destined to make important contributions in neurology,” Zoghbi said. “Given that this award is given to one young faculty member per year, selected from a pool of highly qualified candidates, we are very proud Dr. Neul is receiving this honor.

“He is committed to improving the health of Rett patients and he hopes that through his research he can develop therapies he can use in his patients at the Blue Bird Circle Rett clinic.”

Due to his line of work, Neul occasionally finds himself needing to step back and not “be staring at every little thing” in the development of his own children, 2-year-old Konrad and 4-year-old Colette.

“Sometimes it's hard because I can put myself in the position of the parents and the children,” said Neul, who has been married for 14 years to Shari Neul, a child psychologist at Texas Children's Hospital. “But then I remember I'm trying to help treat these problems, or ultimately, prevent them from happening in the first place.”